MFA Financial purchases more than $1 billion residential mortgage assets in Q2

Co-CEO William Gorin says the company is well-positioned in spite of historically low interest rates

MFA Financial purchases more than $1 billion residential mortgage assets in Q2
MFA Financial announced on Wednesday its financial results for the second quarter, with net income available to common shareholders of $76.2 million, an increase from the $75.2 million a year ago.

During the quarter, MFA acquired or committed to purchase more than $1 billion of residential mortgage assets, of which $340.6 million were credit-sensitive whole loans.

"In the second quarter, we continued to execute our strategy of targeted investment within the residential mortgage universe with a focus on credit sensitive assets.  We acquired assets in every one of our investment asset classes during the quarter,” said Co-CEO William Gorin.

At June 30, MFA's legacy non-agency MBS had a face amount of $3.1 billion with an amortized cost of $2.2 billion and a net purchase discount of $882.2 million. The company held approximately $1.7 billion of 3 year step-up securities at the end of the quarter, while its investments in credit sensitive residential whole loans totaled $1.6 billion.

"MFA's portfolio asset selection process continues to emphasize residential mortgage credit exposure while seeking to minimize sensitivity to interest rates.  As housing prices maintain their upward trend and borrowers repair their credit and balance sheets, MFA's Legacy Non-Agency MBS portfolio continues to outperform our credit assumptions,” said Craig Knutson, MFA's co-CEO, president, and COO.

Looking forward, Gorin said the company is well positioned for attractive returns in spite of historically low interest rates. “Through asset selection and hedging strategy, the estimated net effective duration, a gauge of MFA's interest rate sensitivity, remains low and measured 0.76 at quarter-end,” he said.


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